Houston man charged in assault of triple-amputee security guard

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March 12, 2014
| Updated: March 12, 2014 1:07pm

Jacaree J.J. Keith, 20, is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and assault of a family member. Photo: Houston Police Department

A north Houston man accused of trying to run over a triple-amputee security guard is in jail on $30,000 bond.

Jacaree Jarrod James Keith, 20, is charged with aggravated assault in a Feb. 24 incident at an apartment building for people with disabilities near East Tidwell and the North Freeway.

According to court records, the security guard saw a man later identified as Keith trespassing on the property in a car.

The guard, Joseph Montemayor, tried to take a picture of Keith's vehicle license plate because the property management had given him a trespass warning in December, records state.

Montemayor, who is active in wheelchair sports, said he works part-time at the building where he also lives.

"I work outside in the front, to make sure everything stays nice and quiet," he said Wednesday by phone.

The 47-year-old guard told investigators that Keith drove at him at a very fast speed and came within one foot of running over him, according to the arrest warrant.

"I couldn't believe he was really doing that," Montemayor said Wednesday. "He started from one end of the complex and came full blast, at least 60 or 70 yards. He flew over the speed bump, I can tell you that."

According to the arrest warrant, Keith jumped out of the car and allegedly threatened that he was going to break the guard's neck or kill him. Montemayor used his motor-assisted wheelchair to go to the apartment office, with the defendant following and still yelling that he was going to kill him, records state.

A maintenance worker at the apartments blocked Keith from coming inside the office, telling him he was not allowed, the warrant states. When the manager asked the maintenance man to take a picture of Keith's license plate, the defendant got back in his car, put it in reverse and allegedly tried to run over the maintenance worker, also coming within a foot of hitting him.

Additional witnesses told police the defendant was intentionally trying to run over both men, records state.

In investigating the allegation, police discovered an open assault case against Keith from a Nov. 17 incident at the same apartment building, records state.

In the earlier case, Keith allegedly tried to choke his girlfriend, who is the mother of his child, according to the arrest warrant. The woman told police he choked her to the point that she couldn't breathe, the warrant states.

The woman's mother told police she heard her daughter and the defendant arguing in a bedroom. When the older woman pushed the door open, she saw the defendant with both his hands around her daughter's neck, records state.

With her daughter unable to breathe, the mother began hitting Keith in the back. He eventually let go and went outside, according to the warrant. When the mother locked the door, Keith said he was going to break the window to get back in.

A witness outside who heard Keith threaten to break the window told him she would call the police if he did, records state. He walked up to her and began poking her in the chest, saying, "I'll break you neck," and she walked away.

When the mother opened the door, Keith went back inside the apartment and took the daughter's phone, hanging up the 911 call she had placed to police. He also began choking the daughter again, records state. When police arrived, Keith ran out of the apartment, according to the arrest warrant.